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The company was eager to reassure PeopleSoft users that its Fusion Applications did not mean an end to the PeopleSoft product line.

"No, Fusion is not impacting investment in PeopleSoft. There is a way of coexisting Fusion and PeopleSoft," said Rosie Warner, HCM business development director at Oracle.

"There was some concern about the impact of Fusion on PeopleSoft, but once users attended the session [on the PeopleSoft roadmap at the UKOUG conference], they seemed far more comfortable that there is a roadmap for them."

Customers can adopt PeopleSoft and Fusion in a coexistent model because the Fusion Apps use common data structures, which mean that information can be shared between the two systems in a unified way.

Warner said that there are currently 110 customers globally who have gone down the coexistent route, and a further 140 customers live or imminently live on HR Fusion.

The take-up of the PeopleSoft product is still strong, however, as customers are free to choose the option that is simplest for them, Warner said.

"People really like the PeopleSoft 9.1 function. We've had the greatest uptake of a release ever [with it]," said Warner.

She added: "On a trailing 12 months basis, there was customer retention of 97 percent. The historic high for retention was in 2005."

According to Warner, popular features of PeopleSoft 9.1 include its more intuitive search and business intelligence (BI) functionalities. In addition, the application can be accessed through a web browser, on different mobile devices, including Apple iPads and iPhones.

The next version of the product, PeopleSoft 9.2, is due for release in late 2012.